Friday 6 March 2020 SPRUNG!

Well Autumn has sprung – if that can be an expression – and today I was sprung by Bruce from the A Team as he noted I only photograph the good looking. True. I blog the BB swimming group which is comprised of swimmers all of whom are good looking and, being swimmers above average intelligence. Forget lake Wobegone. We have the sea. And today it was a real challenge. First of all, on approach, it stunk. Hopefully it was decomposing seaweed and not an issue related to north head sewerage works. Secondly, there was a sea mist covering the beach. Nice but it was hard to see what was going on. The surf life savers could see and they closed the beach. Lastly, there was a lot of rubbish in the water which is never nice to swim amongst. Even half way was yucky

Nonetheless it was a lovely scene around the club today with swimmers approaching, looking, assessing what they would do (taking account of their own ability) and just looking great:

There were hooks at 655 am!!

The sight of the beach on approach

Look at these lovely people

We listened to the announcement of John Kelly and also the life savers. The announcement over the tannoy said to notice the beach being closed and not to go in and risk your own life and the lives of the life savers. dramatic but excellent advice. It is necessary to assess your ability against the conditions. A day like today reminds me both of how far I have come as  pool swimmer entering the sea as my own form of midlife crisis. I am proud of how far up the skill mountain I have climbed. However, the skill mountain is very high and I very much admire those more skilled than me. They are not chucking themselves in; they know what the conditions require and enter if it is ok for them. If not, there is half wya, Shelly Beach, the Harbour and also another day.

Superb swimmers

And colour galore

As always it is good to bale up the early swimmers for a report. Today it was about the smell, low visibility, strong waves, rubbish etc. They got through though

And had a shower – some said that more than one shower was required today. yikes.

Then swimmers went to the entry point of their own choosing

Some picked this

This is half way

Unaffected by the conditions

Management Notices

Swimmers: not many

Newbies

Temperature:

The Monthly Dinner – 10^th March 2020 – Wine Tasting

The next B&B monthly dinner will be held on Tuesday 10th March at 6.30 pm at Bluewater Restaurant. Special guest, David Webster, will present the range of Bold and Beautiful wines especially for B&B members and their friends. The Bold and Beautiful wines were born out of the idea of creating a village wine for Manly. The wines comprise two wines made in the Hunter Valley by rising star James Becker of M&J Becker Wines. The red, “The Beautiful”, is a Shiraz Viognier blend made in a very light style perfect for summer drinking. The white, “The Bold”, is 100% Chardonnay made in a fruit forward style with strong Chardonnay flavours but low oak usage. Once you have tasted the wines, you can purchase bottles through the restaurant to enjoy over dinner.

Please book early for this event as it is sure to be popular. The cost of the dinner is great value at only $25 a head, which includes shared entrees, and a selection of mains to choose from (including a vegetarian option). Glasses of beer or wine and desserts are also available at the special price of only $5 each (please note, NO BYO). Numbers are limited, so bookings are essential. To avoid disappointment and secure your spot please book atwww.boldandbeautifulmanly.com.au/bb-bluewater-monthly-dinner.html

Last chance for a 10km swim this saturday

What I am reading:

I have recently read the Chestnut men, Nordic noir  novel – a good read but gory. I am now finish another nordic noir For the Missing and will shortly read Ask me Why Im Stood Here – a book about a Bristol Channel Swim. I had to order it from amazon uk as apparently we here in australia can’t handle this story of a swim which is 21 km long, has a 14m tidal range (yikes) and a 17mph tidal flow in the highest range so needs a lot of planning. Warmest tem it gets is 16 degrees C. Sorry if you can’t handle this information being brought into Australia! I have also had to use connections and arrangements to get Andre Wiersig’s book about his swims to Australia. The purpose of these regional restrictions on books eludes me.